Lena: Ready, Set, STARBUCKS!

Lena: Let's JCO!

The 4-year old Donuts and Coffee brand from Indonesia finally hits Manila!

JCO's first ever local store in The Strip, Megamall finally opened up to the public last March 15 (weee!) --- it's one out of the other three soon-to-open locations (SM MOA, Trinoma, Greenbelt). I'm really excited to check out the Trinoma branch as well --- it's just 2 cartwheels away from my crib (ok, maybe 3 or 4..haha!) *wink*

Luckily, we just had dinner in Megamall the day after it's grand opening. My friends and I never let the chance to slip away --- and this is all because of the nth time that we were larking around JCO's not-yet-open Trinoma store (haha!)

We've tried their JCOccino (Hot and Frappe), Green Tea Frappe, Caffe Avocado and Hot Tiramisu. The hot bevs were nice. Tiramisu became more appealing than JCOccino (their cappucino rendition) especially because of it's aroma. It has this cake-meets-coffee smell :) 

The frappes proved themselves strong and likable. Caffe Avocado was quite a treat! JCOccino Frappe will never let you down as well. However, Green Tea Frappe stole my heart away :) (maybe part of it was due to this fact ---> I'm a certified green tea lover *wink*)

I really like their Frappes! Not too bland nor too sweet --- it's the perfect in-between sweetness!

Meanwhile, for the donuts, we settled to try Alcapone (their bestseller) and Green Tea. Both are a blast to the taste! Soft, moist and not too sweet donuts! Alcapone surely deserve it's spot.

All in all, I will definitely be back for more coffee, donuts and hanging-out sessions in JCO! Let the invasion begin! *wink* :)

LENA: ZARA SALE STARTS TODAY!

Image from Phil Daily Inquirer

Here comes the most awaited Fall/Winter Collection Sale from ZARA.

Some of our cute ensembles actually came from this store. We like! :)
Now, let's go digging! *wink*

ZARA Stores (PHIL)
- Rockwell
- Glorietta 3
- Shangri-la
- Mall of Asia
- TriNoma
- Greenbelt 5

Lena: The Sticker Race Towards My New Starbucks' 2012 Planner :)

Today marks the official start of the annual Starbucks sticker stamping! Yey, I am so excited! This will be my 7th  year in this sticker-race-towards-the-new-SB-planner *wink*

An early Christmas Treat it is! My all time super fave holiday drink is sooo back! Hello Peppermint Mocha! But of course, joining the club are the new Holiday must try - Cranberry White Chocolate Mocha and the Holiday hit comeback - Toffee Nut Latte.

The Holiday Drinks

Plus, what's really amazing is that the 2012 planners themselves are actually promoting the Starbucks' Shared Planet theme and they're made from 70% recycled paper. Whew, sweet deal! I am just a solid 'Go Green' fan! And this is just a major TURN ON for me - definitely made me more anxious to get my hands on those planners. Haha! :)

Planners in 5 variants: Poplar, Bamboo, Cherry, Spruce and Oak

The planner covers are made from wood and come in five colors: poplar, bamboo, cherry, spruce, and oak. Plus, the cute add-ons -- burlap-cloth pouch, bookmark & 9 coupons redeemable at all Starbucks Coffee branches. Big hooray for that! *wink*

Lovin' the add-ons (i love the pouch! *wink*)

The last cheer goes out to the new OPTIONS that they're offering.

OPTION 1

9 (Any of the 3) Holiday Drinks + 8 Any SB Core Beverage  = 17 STICKERS

OPTION 2

23 Any SB Core Beverage = 23 STICKERS

If you're just a regular SB drinker you can opt for Option 2. But if you're a Holiday Drink fan, just like me! :), might as well stick with the original choice - Option 1.


Let the race begin! :)

Lena: Soak in! Le Souk Grill Mediterranean Cuisine and Bar

Photos Courtesy of Click the City

Having to live most of my days, weekdays specifically--due to work, down south probably gave me a lot of time and opportunities to explore almost all of the foodie spots in the so-called resto lane of BF Homes. Whenever new restaurants would pop-up, my foodie friends and I just can’t wait to try and maybe see if it’ll excite our feisty taste buds or simply make us want for more.

Alas! Le Souk came to life. It’s a Mediterranean casual dining restaurant situated along Aguirre Ave, BF Homes. The thought of having this kind of place made me happy since I’m an all-time and certified Mister Kabab fan for as long as I can remember =)

Smoking Area

Non-Smoking Area

The place is divided into smoking and non-smoking areas. Of course, we chose to be in the latter. The ambiance was quite nice. The interior have the wooden furniture meets brick stone-ish vibe.

For starters, we ordered Hummus and Pita. Pitas were served soft and hot. It became much more appealing and tasty once Hummus was on top. Yum! A basic must try!

For the main entrees, we favored to order Greek Seared fish, Lamb Chops and Kebabs. We opted to eat them with plain rice so as to solely critique the entrees appeal and taste. Well, I’m very happy to say that they never fail our ultimate purpose-- to try nice, delectable dishes. Each one of them is a winner. But I must say that Greek Seared Fish truly captured our hearts. The curry meets fish flavor blew us away. It’s a super must try!

After our satisfying dinner, we were just toying around the drink list menu. They actually have a wide array of drinks. However, the beers that we’re supposed to get (Stella Artois, Corona Light and Dos Equis) were not available except for Stella Artois. Arrggh! Bummer! We just decided to bid our drinking thoughts goodbye.

Service was quite good that time. No mishaps were encountered. Orders were on time. Prices were super reasonable. And most importantly, the food was great! All in all, I will definitely be back for more Persian must-tries and for my uber-love Greeak Seared Fish. Wink! =)

Ciara : Neutrogena Wave

Last weekend, I went to the supermarket with friends with no intention of buying anything until I saw the Neutrogena Wave. Apparently, the normal soap and water routine for washing the face is already out.

The Wave is a small water resistant device that provides deep cleansing and gentle exfoliation. It is battery operated and you have to put a pad  for each use. The best part is it is inexpensive, for only AED 52.00 (that's around Php 600.00 and later on I found out its cheaper in Manila. Hehe.), it comes with 15 pads and a battery.

I immediately tried it as soon as I got home. I could say that it is really effective in removing make-up completely but I have a little doubt about the "gentle exfoliation". Nevertheless, I still like it. I will continue to use it for the following days unless I get a breakout ;)

Bubble Tea - Ping Pong Dimsum Version

I've read about all the hype of bubble tea in the Philippines but I guess I have to wait for a few more months until I make my verdict if its worth it. One day I have come across an article in TimeOut (http://www.timeoutdubai.com/) about this controversial drink and one of the restaurants is in Dubai Mall is serving it. My friend Nia and I frequent the place almost every weekend so I asked her to come with me to try it.

Strawberry Vanilla - Ciara's

Calamansi - Nia's

The bill..

Not so expensive and worth it!

We didn't have much of choices since they only serve two flavors, Vanilla Strawberry and Calamansi which we both ordered. I loved both flavors -- right amount of sugar and fruit flavoring. I never even thought that strawberry and vanilla would be a good combination. The drink was refreshing especially for strictly- water-drinkers-even-when-dining-out people like us. The service was very fast and reasonably priced for AED 39 for both of the drinks. I would definitely come back for more bubble tea and dimsum next time. This was the perfect end of our week instead of having the usual hot chocolate from Starbucks :)

Ping Pong Dubai is located at Dubai Mall, Lower Ground Food Court right across Bloomingdale's

www.pingpongdimsum.ae